Nepal: 2 weeks left for South Asian Games but renovation work at Dasarath Stadium still underway

The renovation work at the Dasarath Stadium here is yet to be completed, though only two weeks are left for the opening ceremony of the 13th South Asian Games, partly owing to delay in the delivery of the required materials from China, a site engineer has said.

The stadium is slated to host the opening ceremony of the tournament on December 1 along with a majority of the games. The process of installing chairs for spectators is still underway while the construction of the VVIP block is yet to gain momentum.

"The shipping of the chairs completed last night only. We are now working on the installation of chairs in the yellow block. We have the target of setting up chairs on the other side. We are working with the target of installing 1000 to 1500 chairs per day," Amar Shah, Site Engineer of Dasarath Stadium looking after the installation of chairs, told ANI.

This is the third time Nepal is holding the games. A total of 7 nations have confirmed their participation in the tournament which will be held in Kathmandu and Pokhara cities of the Himalayan nation.

"South Asian Games (SAG) is set to begin from December 1. While taking a tour around the location (Dasarath Stadium), it doesn't seem to be prepared to host the games. About 30 per cent of the work seems to be remaining. But I think if the speed is increased, then the work might be completed," Bikash Neupane, resident in Kathmandu, said.

As many as 3,250 athletes will take part in the tournament, including 648 from Nepal, 521 from India, 612 from Sri Lanka, and 591 from Bangladesh. 413 athletes from Pakistan, 135 from Bhutan, and 332 from the Maldives will also take part in the tournament.